Follow us to the Land of Dragonflies in search of our Destiny. We found our children half away around the world in Vietnam. Follow this family of seven as we live and love life daily and try and change the world.

"Take an action each day that alleviates suffering in the world. Bring light into darkness."-Angeles ArrienHere is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:If you're alive, it isn't.--- Richard BachI have come to realize more and more that the greatest disease and the greatest suffering is to be unwanted, unloved, uncared for, to be shunned by everybody, to be just nobody [to no one] --Mother Teresa

We were not separated at your birth.It was the moment at which we began our journey toward each other.-Nancy McGuire Roche

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Wash clothes before wearing

Thanks Blog Buddy for this little bit of news.

Poison found in kids' clothes from China By KAREN ARNOLD - Sunday Star Times Sunday, 19 August 2007

Poison in children's clothing is emerging as the latest health risk from China.TV3's Target programme will this week detail how scientists found formaldehyde in woollen and cotton clothes at levels 500 times higher than is safe.It questions why there are no New Zealand safety standards for clothes.National Poisons Centre spokesman Dr John Fountain told the Sunday Star-Times the testing had highlighted an area where little was known in New Zealand about the effects tainted clothing would have on people.However, international research supported by the World Health Organisation shows exposure to formaldehyde in concentrations of 20 parts per million (ppm) can cause eye, skin and nasal irritations, respiratory problems, asthma and cancer.The European Union limits formaldehyde residues in children's clothes to a maximum of 30ppm. The chemical is used to give a permanent press effect to clothes.Consumers are advised to wash and air all clothes before they are worn for the first time.Target producer Simon Roy said a variety of new clothes were tested, including a girl's top, school shorts, a Spiderman T-shirt, and pyjamas. Adult clothing was also tested. Roy said the results were so astounding the AgriQuality scientists thought they had made a mistake. "Our results were shocking, ranging from 230ppm to 18,000ppm.This is almost unbelieveable. Some of the clothes Target tested have a reading 900 times the level that actually causes harm."But the potential harm wasn't limited to formaldehyde or clothing made in China.Four children's garments were tested for their ph level, which measures acidity or alkalinity. Levels outside 4 to 7.5 on the scale can damage skin. Two items, a pair of pants and a girl's top, had ph levels above 7.5. Roy said garments made in New Zealand with imported Chinese fabrics also contained chemicals such as harmful dyes that did not wash out or wear off the way formaldehyde did. That included clothes from top-end designer labels. Buying Kiwi-made or expensive brands was no safety net for consumers, he said.Europe had banned 22 aromatic amine dyes which were known carcinogens. But Target investigations showed 10pc of clothes tested in China contained them and, once again, New Zealand had no regulations about what it accepted into the country.Auckland mother Raewyn Rasch said the findings were horrifying.She told the Star-Times her son bought four pairs of trousers labelled 100pc cotton. But even after washing, each pair caused a rash round his middle. Rasch thought formaldehyde could be a cause after she read about toxins in clothing. "What really annoys me is that, for mothers, kids are always coming up with scratches and marks and rashes. You ask them what they've been eating and where they've been. You wouldn't expect it to be the clothes they're wearing."New Zealand consumers deserved protection and needed to know about the dangers they and their children were exposed to, she said.Details of the unsafe clothing and its risks follow a global recall this month of millions of Mattel toys, also made in China and deemed unsafe. Sanitarium is now getting its peanut butter made in Australia rather than China because of consumer concerns, and last month a toothpaste made in China was recalled after it was found to contain a toxin used in anti-freeze.Green MP Sue Kedgley said New Zealand risked becoming a dumping ground for unsafe imports, some of which China itself regulated against."I believe it is so serious it demands a parliamentary investigation of our complete lack of consumer protection for most products in New Zealand. Technically they are supposed to comply with the Consumer Guarantees Act but how would anyone know if it's being systematically breached when no one is looking or doing any monitoring?"

Children are the future of mankindAnd it is the undeniable right of each child to be nurtured, loved and protected,Ideally by his or her own family.

If for some reason this is impossibleBecause of poverty, sickness, death or lack of concern,Then the child must be cared for by the human family.

We are dedicated to the philosophyThat every child who enters this worldShould be the recipient of the giftThat was promised them at the moment of birth.The gift of Life.

Cherie Clark, 1977

Steven Curtis Chapman - When Love Takes You In lyrics

I know you've heard the storiesBut they all sound too good to be trueYou've heard about a place called homeBut there doesn't seem to be one for youSo one more night you cry yourself to sleepAnd drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changesA miracle starts with the beat of a heartWhen love takes you home and says you belong hereThe loneliness ends and a new life beginsWhen love takes you in

And somewhere while you're sleepingSomeone else is dreaming tooCounting down the days untilThey hold you close and say I love youAnd like the rain that falls into the seaIn a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changesA miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you goThere is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose it's hold

When love takes you in everything changesA miracle starts with the beat of a heartWhen love takes you home and says you belong hereThe loneliness ends and a new life beginsWhen love takes you in it takes you in for goodWhen love takes you in